Twenty Four
by Entire Oranges
Summary: The Doctor And Peri are in a dangerous situation.


"Peri? Where are you girl?!" He was positive her not to run off on her own. Stealing a glance at the watch she gave him as a gift he notes he had twenty four hours to be to Cordalynx in the Stoo Galaxy. Not that time really mattered with a time machine, yesterday could be in three weeks or a million years in the future could been seen in three hours. No he really didn't have a need for time, at least not the human concept form.

"Doctor what are you doing?" After ten minutes she returns.

"Don't you listen? Stay here. Don't leave. Awfully easy to understand right?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you listen!?"

"I heard a noise I thought you did too. I swear you were behind me, maybe I was a bit hasty."

"Did you?"

"What?"

"For heavens sake girl! Did you hear something or not?"

"I don't think so." The Doctor thinks a moment weighing the pros and cons on further investigation, annoying as Peri could be, he trusted her.

"We'll be off." He pulls the lever down waiting for their hum of the Tardis, only to be presented with a gigantic bang and blinding smoke.

The first thing he noted as he pulled himself into a sitting position was that there was now twenty three hours remaining. He hadn't realized that explosion, if that was it was, had been so violent, after all it took alot to knock him out! For one hour was equally insulting, as a Time Lord was reputed to have a thicker skin than others. A soft moan breaks into his pity party moment.

"Peri! Are you alright?" He slides over to her, still laying on her back, eyes closed.

"Oh Doctor they burn!" She begins to fight and move against the floor, complete fear in her words.

"What Peri? What burns?" The Doctor holds back a gasp as she opens her eyes to show them completely red and watering.

Out of what he could only venture a guess as pure exhaustion Peri at last stopped struggling against his arms as he was trying to keep her still.

"Peri can you see anything? Anything at all?"

"God Doctor it really hurts! Please help me." He hated to see anyone cry.

"Of course keep calm my dear. I shall be right back." Peri just nodded as he stood up and sprinted towards the back of the Tardis around corners, up and down stairs until at last he was there. Three medicine cabnits lined the white wall, the clinic of the Tardis. Luckily he and his companions past, present and hopefully future had little need for it. He pulls open the door to the first one on the left, reading the labels quickly.

"That's it!" He picks up a small brightly red colored one marked as Gorz and races back to Peri.

"Part of my schem to wait and watch your teardrops fall." On the floor still, but now sitting against the wall Peri was singing, off key.

"I'm back Peri. That song it seems nice. Your singing is lovely?" Compliments were never his thing.

"Nice try Doctor." And she knew it.

The Doctor had forgotten in the four hundred years from his last use of the stuff, that Gorz smelt kerfulling enough like cloves garlic, and powerful ones to boot. If he or Peri were Vampires in disguise they stuff would have quickly uncovered the truth.

"Ugh what is that!?" Peri reaches to pinch closed her nostrils.

"The solution to the burning. Here hold still." The Doctor dabs a touch of the liquid onto hankie and holds it against both of her eyes.

"What happened Doctor?"

"I found some medicine and now I am giving it to you." Seemed rather obvious to him.

"No I meant what caused all of this to happen?"

"Ah that's a very good question. The answer is I have no idea."

"You no idea? While your back there check for a head injury I must be hearing you wrong!"

"Hold this." Peri takes the hankie as he walks over to the console peering down at it. Everything looked fine and he sensed nothing out of ordinary. Just as he was about to throw his hands up in frustration he notices the light that usually flashed in three second interments was now in four.

"Strange." He comments to himself, Peri humming the song from before and nearly oblivious to what he was doing. He presses on light, he really had no idea of its purpose (like 30% of the controls). To his surprise the entire console starts to spin counterclockwise gathering speed with each rotation, soon it was just a blur.

"The burning stopped, but it's still really hazy Doctor."

"That's nice. Little busy here!"

"Could I help?"

"Can you see more than three inches in front of you?"

"No."

"Then just stay there!" Without warning he falls backwards in the same position from the recent past all turns black.

He slowly opens his eyes, looking at the watch taking a stab that he'd have twenty hours left.

"What?!" Twenty days had past.

"What's happening?" Silence. "Peri?" He turns to where she was before to find just the empty air.


End file.
